"I’d say it’s time for a small wager." Egan was grinning ear to ear as they watched the girls drive away for their day of shopping.

"I didn’t know you were a betting man. What’s on your mind?" Bud fixed him with a look.

Lachlan shifted Katie Marie to his other hip since they were done ‘waving’ goodbye to her Mommy.

"I’m always up for a good wager. Don’t ya dare tell yer Mum, Katie girl." He tapped the end of her tiny button nose with his finger after whispering sshhh. The baby gave a happy giggle.

Bud shook his head in amazement. He’d not been around many kids but this baby had the sunniest disposition of any kid he’d ever seen. Then he thought about her parents. No fucking wonder. He wasn’t sure which one of them smiled more; the little one as Suzy Miss Sunshine or Airman Curry.

For a brief moment Bud shuddered to think what his kid would be like. Hopefully it would take after Marie and not him. He pushed the thought out of his head. It wasn’t a place he allowed himself to go yet.

"Well?" He barked at Varner. Katie Marie started to giggle again. Bud looked at her. She was laughing at him. "Christ, she’s just like her Mom. She laughs at me all the time too."

Lachlan looked at his daughter with pride. He couldn’t think of anything better than his wee sheila being just like her Mum. "Lucky, lucky, lucky," he grinned and looked at Egan expectantly.

Egan had gotten distracted by Katie Marie and was looking at her like she was a fascinating alien being. He’d been around babies his whole life but none of them had been of the human variety. He liked this one so far.

"Ok, the wager. I say we bet on how soon Ashley calls to check on the baby and you, Curry. Closest time wins." He chuckled.

Bud looked out the window. "Do you suppose they’re off the property yet? The phone should be ringing any moment." He sniggered.

"Ha, ha, ha," Lachlan mocked. "I shouldn’t bet against yer Mum, should I Katie Marie?" He fixed his daughter with an outraged look which elicited more giggles from the baby. "But I’ll take that bet. You’re on." He waggled his finger at Egan and looked over at Bud.

Bud glanced at his watch. "Departure time was 1005 AM. Will she make it until 1030?" He grinned. Marie and Jessica practically had to drag Ashley from the house as she kept making excuses why she shouldn’t leave even though she wanted to go shopping with her cousins.

"My poor sheila was not having an easy time of it. I say she’ll make it an hour." Lachlan grinned. His was the first official time submitted.

An hour was the time Egan was going to pick. Jessica and Marie would try to talk her out of calling right away. Egan had never seen anyone talk Ashley out of anything she wanted to do. Not even Curry.

"Alrighty. If you’re declaring 1105, I say she’ll call by 1050 latest." Egan smiled.

Bud stood silent for a moment. He figured Ashley had her cell out already, but he didn’t underestimate Marie. Jessica was out of the picture because she was driving. Marie would snatch that phone out of the little one’s hand before she had a chance to dial. She was bound and determined to give Ashley a good day away from Katie Marie and Lachlan.

"1230 to 1300 hours. She’ll call during lunch. That’s my official time." Bud nodded his head. There was a sparkle in his eyes.

"No way she’ll make it that long," Egan argued and Lachlan agreed.

Bud scowled at both of them. He had faith in Marie, but he wasn’t sharing his strategy.

"What are we playing for?"

"A round of pints next time we’re at the pub?" Egan suggested. Bud nodded to that.

"Or we could make it more interesting?" Lachlan suggested in a leading manner.

"Like what?" Bud looked at Curry through narrowed eyes. He smelled a rat.

"Loser has to change Katie Marie’s wet nappies the rest of the day." Lachlan smirked. "Though I’m not sure either of you should touch my wee sheila with your rough uncoordinated hands." He was talking again to Katie Marie who clapped her tiny palms together with glee. Lachlan looked at them with surprise. "She’s voted."

He could barely contain his laughter while he observed Egan and Bud. Lachlan wasn’t sure which one of them looked more terrified at the idea. He figured Egan was less able to cover it up.

Bud smelled fear in the room. He wasn’t sure if it was Varner’s or his. Probably both. He didn’t think he’d lose, but could he take that chance?

Egan glanced at the clock on the wall. Ashley was going to call any minute and he’d win. He couldn’t wait to see Bud White changing a wet nappy. Even better if the nappy was more than just wet. He’d pay to see that.

"You’re on," Egan nodded his assent.

Bud grumbled. He didn’t like this, but he nodded. C’mon Marie. I’m counting on you, Hon.

"What about you if you lose, Curry? You do that all the time." Bud fixed him with a look as he pointed toward the area of Katie Marie’s diaper.

"True and I was expecting to be on nappy duty for the afternoon anyway. How ‘bout it’s my shout out for 2 rounds at the pub?"

Egan and Bud looked at each other and shook their head’s no. This had turned into a real wager now and money was too easy a way out for losing. Varner got a big grin on his face.

"How about he mucks out the stable one afternoon, Mate?"

Bud chuckled. "I like that." They both looked at Lachlan. The winning grin had slipped from his face.

"I don’t know, Mates. My payment is way higher than yours," he protested.

"Says who?" Egan argued. They both looked at Bud.

Bud wasn’t so sure if horse shit or baby shit was worse.

"The horses make a helluva lot more, but you don’t have to touch it like changing a kid’s diaper. You can use a shovel. It probably stinks more though." He gave his expert analysis. "It sounds like a pretty fair exchange to me." Bud grinned at Curry.

It was Lachlan’s turn to grumble. "Okay, but only one stall. Not the whole bloody stable. My sweet wee sheila doesn’t make nearly that much mess. And loser has to feed her one bottle and burp her too." Lachlan almost hoped Katie Marie spit up a little on one of them. The jaunty smile was back on his face.

"Then you bloody well feed the horse too," Egan exclaimed. He was barely able to cover his dread this time as Katie Marie giggled at the men again.

"Deal," Lachlan and Egan agreed. They looked at Bud again.

Bud looked at his watch. All the time they’d been haggling over the terms of the wager had led to less than 20 minutes until Varner’s time expired. He was going to love this.

"Deal," he nodded. The wager and terms were set as the clock began to tick down toward the first time of 1050. It was quickly 1035. They were all quiet for a few more minutes until Katie Marie let out a big gummy yawn as her eyelids drooped for a second.

Lachlan chuckled. "Somebody’s ready for a nap. You two ought to watch me since one of you is going to be putting her down after you feed and change her this afternoon." His Cheshire cat grin was firmly in place.

He cradled her gently in his arms as he walked toward the nursery. Lachlan couldn’t take his eyes off his tiny daughter. He was still in awe that she was his. Despite the sleep interrupted nights he couldn’t think of anything more wonderful than being a father.

Ash and he had been talking about when they wanted to work on baby number two. Lachlan was eager to start right away when Ashley’s six weeks were up in a couple of days. She was more of a mind to wait until Katie Marie was a year old. Lachlan pointed out that even if she got pregnant right away Katie Marie would be eleven months old at the youngest when she delivered. She wasn’t convinced yet.

Once Katie Marie was settled in her crib and sleeping Lachlan grabbed the baby monitor and motioned for Bud and Egan to follow him to the kitchen. He grabbed a cold one from the fridge and offered it to Egan first.

"You might want to drink up now, Mate. Cause after Katie wakes up you’re on baby duty this afternoon." He pointed to the clock as he handed Egan the bottle. It was 1055. Egan had lost the wager.

"And take it slow at a rate of no more than one an hour or you’re being cut off. You aren’t getting too much into your cups and then touching my wee sheila. You can drink tea." Lachlan laughed like he’d just told the best joke he ever heard as Egan grumbled.

Bud twisted the cap off his VB and threw it across the room into the trash can. He’d acquired a taste for this Aussie swill.

"Laugh it up now, Curry. You’ve got less than 10 minutes until you lose too." Bud grinned as he took a swig of cold beer.

"My sweet sheila is gonna call in less than 10 minutes. No worries, Mate." Lachlan twisted the cap off his VB and launched it into the trash can too. He confidently took a drink. Egan was eyeing the baby monitor as though he was trying to will through it for Katie Marie to sleep through the afternoon until the girls returned.

"Oh, I think she’s trying to call, Curry. Probably for a half an hour already she’s been begging and cajoling for the phone." Bud grinned and took another swig of his beer. "I’m counting on that little cell phone of hers to be in Marie’s purse by this time and she won’t get it until they break for lunch."

Lachlan’s confidence slipped for just a moment. The detective had some sound reasoning. He could see Marie restricting Ashley’s ability to call him. Lach hadn’t thought about that. He could see Egan hadn’t considered that angle either. Lachlan’s bravado slipped back into place. If he was going down he’d do it in style with a crash and burn.

"Have you two figured out that this a test by the girls for all of us, but especially you two?" Lachlan swallowed a big mouthful of VB. He laughed when he saw the blank looks on the two men’s faces. So much for Bud White’s detective skills on this one.

He pointed his bottle at Egan. "You’re being sized up to see if you are future husband and father material."

Then he pointed his bottle toward Bud. "You’re being tested on fathering abilities since Marie is expecting your own wee one." Lach looked quite pleased with himself as he took another swallow of his VB.

"Bullshit, this was so the little one could have a day out." Bud wasn’t quite as forceful as his usual assertions. He was thinking about what Curry said. Egan had nodded in agreement with Bud, but was thinking about it too.

"Yeah, that’s the main reason, but we’re being tested too. Trust me on this, mates. When the girls were discussing their outing I could see they had ulterior motives. You know how they think."

Egan and Bud both nodded, but Egan was thinking he had no idea how these three sheilas thought. Especially when they were together he was clueless. He stared at the monitor in a panic as Katie Marie made a snuffling sound in her sleep. Thankfully she got quiet again immediately. He took two quick swallows of his VB.

"If we’re being tested, what’s your test, Curry?" Bud cocked an eyebrow up at him.

"I’m being tested for my abilities to keep things calm and orderly and to teach you wankers how to take care of a wee baby." Lachlan chuckled with utmost confidence. He’d never admit he’d been a bit nervous when Ashley left and Katie Marie was in his care alone for the first time since she was born.

Egan glanced at the clock and grinned. "We may be wankers when it comes to baby care, but you just lost the wager too. Get ready to shovel manure, Mate. It’s 1005."

Egan felt much better now that he wasn’t the only loser on the day. But that meant White won the wager and it was very evident on his face he was aware of that too. He’d be insufferable the rest of the day.

Resigned to his future horse duties Lachlan clinked his bottle against Egan’s. He nodded at Bud.

"Cheers, Mate. You won the wager." They all had a drink to winners and losers. And then the good natured arguing started over what time to fire up the grill and what kind of meat they were going to barbecue for lunch.

Ashley called in to check on Katie Marie and Lachlan at lunch. She complained to Lach that Marie had stolen her cell phone and hadn’t let her call until they stopped to eat. Ash whispered her love to Lachlan and Katie Marie and then shared that despite how much she missed them she had really needed this afternoon away. She was having a great time with her cousins and had bought several new outfits to wear.

Lachlan rolled his eyes at the thought of the credit card bill that would be coming next month, but he quickly forgot that detail when she whispered that one of things she’d purchased was a sexy new piece of lingerie to wear for him in a few days.

He groaned. "Bloody hell. You’re killing me here, love." Lachlan couldn’t wait to see her with it on and then get her out of it too.

Katie Marie slept until they were ready to have their tucker. Lachlan demonstrated how to change her diaper and how to give her a bottle including warming up and testing the breast milk.

That led to a whole discussion on had Curry tasted the breast milk. He had and described the taste. The men all agreed that they understood why Katie Marie was reluctant at first to get started on the bottle nipple and much preferred a real nipple. They all preferred a real nipple themselves.

Laughter ensued including Katie Marie’s little baby giggle. They’d have to be careful in the future when Katie Marie was old enough to understand what they talked about.

Egan did well with changing Katie Marie’s wet nappy as well as feeding her a bottle later. Lachlan watched him carefully and gave suggestions along the way. He noticed that Bud watched closely and didn’t say a word. White was taking it all in.

By the time the girls returned from their outing the men were watching a rugby match on the tele. Bud moved over on the couch so Ashley could slip in aside of Lachlan. He had a sleeping Katie Marie cradled in his arms. Ashley kissed his cheek and snuggled up against her husband to watch him and their baby. All in all it was a very good day. Lachlan still had stable duty to fulfill on another day.